Magazine and feed means for fastening machines



Nov. 4, 11947. E. P. ANSTEITT 2,430,321

MAGAZINE AND FEED MEANS FOR FASTENI NG MACHINES Filed Dec. 1, 1943 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Nbv. 4, 1947. E. P, ANSTETT' 2,430,321

MAGAZINE AND FEED MEANS FOR FASTENING MACHINES Filed Dec. 1, 1945 5Sheets-Sheet 2 fig;

2 J4 iq 15' 3 39 .10 /\\K Z I joe 73?" a a; .Zgarfflns 62" Nov. 4,1947.E. P. ANSTETT [2,430,321

- MAGAZINE AND FEED MEANS FOR FASTENING MACHINES Filed Dec. 1, 1943 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 4, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEMAGAZINE AND FEED MEANS FOR FASTENING MACHINES Application December 1,1943, Serial No. 512,673

13 Claims.

This invention relates to nailing or stapling machines, and moreparticularly to such machines as are portable, being carried to thelocation where the nailin is to take place and operated by an impactimparted thereto by a mallet or the like or, in the case of staples, byan impact imparted thereto by the hand.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide such amachine which is simple but sturdy of construction so that it will notget out of order even when subjected to a good deal of violentmistreatment.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a nailingmachine of the above mentioned character which is particularly adaptedfor use with thin nails and wherein the nail is maintained in its trueposition during the nailing operation without likelihood of buckling,and wherein the driving blade that drives the nail home is supportedagainst buckling.

Consider, by way of example, a thin nail made of sheet metal of athickness of the order of .050 inch. Such a nail, because of itsthinness, should be supported against buckling during the drivingoperation. The nail driving blade being much longer than the nail iseven more likely to buckle if means are not provided to preventbuckling. It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide anailing machine of the above mentioned character wherein there isprovided means for supporting the opposite faces of the driving bladeagainst buckling during the nailing operation. This is accomplished bymoving the stem of the blade in a groove of a thickness notsubstantially different from the thickness of the blade, so that theopposite surfaces of the groove support the blade against buckling in aforward direction and against buckling in a rearward direction.

It is a still further object of the present inventicn to provide anailing machine the body of which may consist of two similar simple,sturdy castings suitably machined to provide a track for the nails andto provide space for the nail feeding mechanism, and yet so arrangedthat the sturdy castings provide the necessary protection for the nailsand for the nail feeding spring mechanism.

The nailing machine of the present invention receives a stick of nailsin which the respective nails are secured together in a row by a thinfilm of glue. During each operation of the machine the foremost nail ofthe stick of nails is severed from the stick of nails and driven inplace. It is one of the objects of the present invention to pro- I videan improved spring operated nail feeding 20 wood surface.

mechanism which will advance the stick of nails in a step by step mannereach time the foremost nail of the stick is removed, each step beingsufficient to bring the next nail into proper nailing position for thenext nailing operation. The nail feeding mechanism preferablyincludes aplate which rides in the nail track and bears against the last nail ofthe stick of nails. A spring, or a plurality of springs, constantlypresses the feeder plate against the stick of nails. During thecommencement of the nailing operation the foremost nail which is beingdriven home is supported against buckling in one direction by a frontplate of the machine and must be held against buckling in the oppositedirection by the pressure exerted thereagainst by the succeeding nailsof the stick of nails. This pressure may have to be appreciable ifbuckling is to be avoided, especially when the nail is being driven intoa very hard It is therefore desirable that the feeder plate exert anappreciable pressure against the last nail of the stick of nails, whichpressure is transmitted-through the stick of nails to the foremost nailbein driven into the wood and which pressure prevents rearward bucklingof the driven nail.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a springpressure nail feeding mechanism wherein an appreciable spring pressuremay be exerted'against the nail feeding plate without the posite sidesof the feeding plate so that each spring counteracts any tendency of theother spring to cause the feeding plate to bind.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide anailing machine of such a con- 40 struction as to permit refilling ofthe same quickly and easily. This is accomplished, in the preferredembodiment of the invention, by providing a releasable spring pressuremagazine which may be quickly retracted from the machine to permitpositioning of a stick of nails into the machine, and

which may be quickly reinserted into the machine to condition themachine for use. In the preferred embodiment of the present inventionthe spring feeding mechanism comprises a tube split longitudinally fromone end almost but not quite to the other end. This permits the tube toembrace a stick of nails, the individual nails extending into the slotof the tube. A feeder plate carried by the tube rides in the slot of thetube and is pressed forward by a pair of springs in the tube on oppositesides of the plate. The tube may be of any desired cross sectionalshape, the preferred shape being rectangular, since with such a shapethe tube may be formed of two open channels secured together at one endwith the flanges of the channels facing one another and spaced apart toform the slit for the passageway of the nail feeding plate.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide anailing machine which, while exceedingly sturdy in construction, is notsubject to cracking or bending. While the body of the machine may bemade of cast steel, it is within the purview of the present invention tomake the body of the machine of a molded, non-brittle plastic which istrengthened by having incorporated therein a, commingled mass of shortcords or strands of cotton, or the like. These cords or strands are veryshort and are promiscuously commingled in the mass of molded material.This forms an excellent impact material.

The attainment of the above and further objects of the present inventionwill be apparent from the following specification taken in con junctionwith the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view. of a nailing machine embodying thpresent invention;

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the machine ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a, sectional view taken along the line 33 of Figure 2 andshowing the plunger in its normal position;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 and showing the plunger in itsextreme nail driving position;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the plunger and driving blade;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the front end plate;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a guide plate for holding the stem ofthe plunger blade against buckling;

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 9-9 ofFigure 3;

Figure 10 is a horizontal sectional view of the nail feeding mechanism,said view being taken along the line l0l0 of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken along the line lI-|l of Figure 9;

Figure 12 is a sectional view taken along the lin |2--l2 of Figure 9;

Figure 13 is a perspective view of the nail feeding plate and connectedsprings;

Figure 14 is a central longitudinal sectional view of a nailing machineembodying a modified form of nail feeding mechanism;

Figure 15 is a fragmentary perspective view of a part of the nailfeeding mechanism of Figure 14; and

Figure 16 is a sectional view taken along the line I6l6 of Figure 15.

Reference may now be had more particularly to the machine of Figure 1.The machine, indicated in general by the reference numeral I, includestwo similar castings 2 and 3 secured together in face to facerelationship. The castings may be of any suitable material, such as, forinstance, steel, although a preferred mate rial is a non-brittle, hard,thermoplastic which has incorporated therein a commingled mass of shortcords or strand of cotton, rayon, or the 'in the casting 2.

like, which are promiscuously commingled in the mass of molded material.This forms an excellent impact material not subject to cracking orcrystallization. Th castings 2 and 3 are perfectly aligned by dowel pins5-5 which make snug fits in corresponding hole in the two castings, andthe castings are then held together by screws 8 the heads of whichextend into countersunk holes in the casting 3 and thread into tappedholes The bottoms of the castings '2 and 3 are perfectly flat. At theforward end of the machine each casting 2 and 3 has an enlarged headwhich i an integral part of the casting. Ahandle part ll extends fromthe head to the base part of the casting and provides means for grippingthe machine.

Each enlarged head l9-l9 has a vertically extending, channel-shapedgroove [2 therein, the

grooves in the contacting faces of the heads [0-- l9 being opposite oneanother so that together they form a vertically extending square orrectangular hol for receiving a rectangular shaped driving plunger M ofsteel, which has an enlargement :5 at its upper end that is embedded inthe head it. The head It is preferably of impact material such as wasdescribed above and is adapted to receive the blow of a hammer or malletfor moving the plunger I to drive a nail, in a manner to be more fullyset forth as this description proceeds. The plunger I4 is constantlyurged to its uppermost position by a coiled spring I8 which extends intoa bore in the plunger and bears at its lower end against the castings 2and 3 at the base of the opening that receives the plunger it. One faceof the plunger has an elongated slot 29 that receives the stem of ascrew 2! threaded in the machine. The slot 29, by engagement with thescrew 2|, limits the upper movement of the plunger under the action ofthe spring !8.

A fiat nail driving blade 24 of steel fits over one face of the plungerl4 and bears at its upper end against the enlargement i5 of the plungerso that upon downward movement of the plunger M the enlargement l5forces the blade 24 also to move downward. A short pin 25, which extendsthrough a hole in the blade and is embedded in the plunger It, serves toraise the blade upon upward movement of the plunger. The plunger H! withthe blade 24 together make a snug sliding fit in the hole 52-!2 in thehead [0.

The face of the plunger i4 that is engaged by the blade 25 is cut awayfrom the bottom upwardly, as indicated at 26. The length of this cut issomewhat in excess of the stroke of the plunger. The depth of the cut ismade equal to the thickness of a nail to be used in the machine. Thepurpose of this cut away part 26 will be apparent as this descriptionproceeds. The lower end of the blade 29 has a stem 28 which is of awidth and thickness approximately equal to the width and thickness ofthe head of a nail to be driven by the machine. The length of the stem28 is in excess of the stroke of the plunger.

An anti-buckling guide plate 39, of a thickness equal to the thicknessof a nail to be driven by the machine, is secured to the bottom frontpart of the castings .2-3 as by screws 31 that pass through holes 32J2in the plate Short dowel pins 33, passing through holes 33 in the plate39, accurately position the plate in the machine. The guide plate is ofa width at its lower part equal to the thickness of the lower part ofthe castings 2 and 3 and includes a part 34, of reduced width, thatextends into the plunger receiving slot and enters into the cut awaypart 26 between the plunger l4 and the blade 24. The upper part of theplate 30 is supported by the lower part of the plunger l4 and, as theplunger descends, the upper part of the plate continues to hold the stemof the blade 24 against rearward buckling, while the surfaces 35 of thecastings 2 and 3 hold the blade against forward buckling. The lower partof the plate 30 has a T-shaped slot 36 therein of the same shape as theshape of a nail to be driven by the machine.

A front facing plate 4|! is secured to the lower part of the machine bythe screws 3|. The front facing plate fill extends from the bottom ofthe machine to the bottom of the head Ill. The inner face of the plate40 has a vertically extending channel 4| formed therein at the centerthereof, which channel is of a width equal to the width of the web orhead of the T-shaped nail. The channel 4i is of a depth equal to thethickness of the stem 23 and equal to the thickness of a nail beingdriven by the machine. In the descent of the plunger the stem 23 ridesin the channel ll andis supported at its lower end against forward andsideward buckling by the walls of the channel 4|. At the same time thelower end of the stem is held by the plate 35 against rearward buckling.

The machine is adapted to receive a stick of fiat nails each of which isof a T-shape, as shown more particularly in my patent application SerialNo. 510,417, filed Nov. 15, 1943. The nails are superimposed one uponanother and are held together by a thin film of glue. Because the nailsare T-shaped, the guideway for the nails is of a corresponding crosssection. If the machine were designed for using nails of a differentshape the guideway for the nails would be made of a shape required toreceive such nails.

An explanation will now be given of the manner of holding the nails inthe machine and of advancing them step by step as each foremost nail isdriven home. A straight, horizontal nailreoeiving groove is formedbetween the contacting faces of the two castings 2-3. Since the nail tobe used in the machine is a T-shaped nail the groove is T-shaped incross section. Half of the groove is formed in each of the castings 2-3.To that effect each casting 2 and 3 has a very shallow but wide groove35 therein (Fig. 11) which is of a depth approximately equal to half ofthe width of the nail and of a height equal to the height of the nail.At the top of each groove 44 there is a deeper groove 45 of a depthequal to half of the width of the nail head. The grooves 4445 in eachcasting 23 are of substantially inverted L-shape and together form theT-shaped guideway for receiving the nails. The groove 44 is extended ashort distance above the groove 45,

as indicated at #5, to provide a guideway for the top of a nail feedingplate, as will be more fully set forth as this description proceeds.Each groove 44 has a deeper groove 48 formed therein approximately halfway between the top and the bottom of the groove 44. The two grooves 48in the castings 2-3 extend horizontally the full lengths of the castings23. These grooves together form a horizontally extending rectangularbore for receiving a spring operated, nail feeding mechanism.

The spring operated, nail feeding mechanism illustrated more fully inFigures 9, 10, 11 and 12, includes two oppositely facing spaced channelsl-fil secured together at one end by a block 53 and a pair of rivets 54.The block 53 is of such sizeas to provide a space between the flanges ofthe channels 5I5| so that in efiect the nail feeding 'mechanism Si] is aslotted rectangular tube wherein the slot extends longitudinally of thetube from one end thereof almost to the other end. The width of the slot56 between the channels is slightly in excess of the width of a nail sothat the nail feeding mechanism may straddle a stick of nails, with theshanks of the nails extending vertically through the slot 56, as may beseen from Figure 11. At the forward end of each channel 5| there isjournalled a short grooved pulley 59. Each channel 5| further has aspring 60, one end of which is secured to the block 53, and each ofwhich extends from the block 53 to the forward end of the channel andaround the pulley 58. The opposite end of the spring is then secured toa nail pusher plate 62 which is of a thickness equal to the width of thenails and which extends through the slot 56 and is movable therein. Theopposite faces of the nail pusher plate 62 have spring guide blocks 63extending therefrom, which blocks are molded as an integral part of theplate. Each block has a horizontal, semi-circular groove 64 thereacrossthrough which the spring extends. The free end of each spring isconnected to the associated block 63. It is thus apparent that the twosprings 60-6U constantly pull the nail pusher plate 62 forward. One ofthe springs 60 is secured to the nail pusher plate below the center ofthe nail and the other spring is secured to the nail pusher plate asomewhat lesser distance above the center of the plate. The two springstend to hold the plate in a truly vertical position and prevent anytendency for the plate to skew or bind in the guideway, and the line ofthe center of pressure exerted by the foremost edge 69 of the plate 52against the nails is a short distance below the center of the nails. Theupper end of the plate 62 rides in the guideway 45 and also acts as alimiting stop to limit the forward movement of the nail pusher, as willbe presently described.

The group of nails in the guideway is indicated at 68. The stems of thenails are in the cooperating grooves 44-44 of the castings 2-3, and theheads of the nails are in the grooves 45. Since the heads of the nailsare in the grooves 45 the nails are held against vertical displacementwhen the machine is inverted. The edge surface 69 of the nail pusher 62bears against the stem of the last nail of the stack. The surface 69 iscut back at 10 to provide an offset. The depth of this off set is equalto the thickness of one nail. The offset 10 is at an elevation not abovethe top of the nails. The nail pusher plate 62, acted on by the springsGil-6B, exerts a constant pressure against the last nail and, actingthrough the stick of nails 68, always maintains the first nail firmly inthe channel 4| of the front facing plate 40.

When the plunger 14 is forcibly driven downwardly, as by a mallet orhammer blow against the head I 6, the stem 28 of the blade 24 movesdownwardly in the channel 4| of the front facing plate, and engages thehead of the nail therein and forces the nail downwardly. After the nailhas moved a very short distance the point of the nail engages thesurface 1'5 (Fig. 4) into which the nail is to be driven, and from thenon resistance to driving is encountered. If the surface is a hard woodit will offer a great resistance to the nail. Buckling of the nail is,however, prevented because the front surface of the nail is inengagement with the web of the channel 4| of the front facing plate andtherefore the nail cannot buckle forward. The back of the nail is heldagainst buckling due to the spring pressure exerted thereagainst by thenext nail in the machine, which is being pressed forward by the nailfeeder 62. The center of pressure of the springs 60 on the plate 62 issomewhat below the middle of the nail, to place the center of pressurein horizontal alignment with that part of the foremost nail which hasthe maximum tendency to buckle. The spring pressure exerted by the nailpusher 62, together with the inertia effects of the stick of nails andthe nail feeder 62, is sufiicient to prevent the foremost nail frombuckling rearwardly. The stroke of the plunger may be any desired amountand may even countersink the nail, as illustrated in Figure 4.

When the hammer is removed from the head is the plunger I4 rises underthe action of the spring l8. When the bottom of the stem 28 of the blade24 clears th top of the nails the entire stick of nails is moved forwardby the nail pusher plate 62 by an amount equal to the thickness of anail, thereby bringing the next foremost nail into the channel M of thefront facing plate. This action is repeated until the last nail has beenmoved into the channel M of the front facing plate. At that time theedge 69 of the nail pusher 62 has entered the T-shaped slot 36 in theantibuckling plate 38, and the surface 69 is flush with the frontsurface of the plate 30. At this same time the edge '53 of the plate 62is in engagement with the rear surface of the plate 30. When the lastnail in the machine is driven home and the plunger [4 rises to theposition illustrated in Figure 2, the nail feeding plate 62 cannot moveforward because the surface l3 thereof is in engagement with the backsurface of the plate 30 immediately above the web of the T-shaped slot36 therein. This is of importance because if the plate 62 were permittedto move forward upon discharge of the last nail from the machine thenthe forward edge of the plate would come into the path of thereciprocation of the stem 28 of the nail feeding blade so that ifanother hammer blow is then struck on the head It of the plunger thestem 28 would be forcibly driven into engagement with the plate 82 andmight injure either the plate 82 or the stem 28. By the presentarrangement this is not possible. It is also important that the cut awayportion at 10 be provided r so that the plate 62 may enter the slot 36of the plate 30 for if this were not possible then there would be noforce tending to hold the last nail in the channel H, which would make anail driving action uncertain when there is only one nail left i in themachine. By the present arrangement this is obviated.

An explanation will now be given of the manner of holding the nailfeeding mechanism 50 in place in the machine. Before the nail feedingmechanism 50 is inserted intothe machine a stick of nails is positionedtherein by sliding the nails into place from the back of the machine,with the heads of the nails riding in the guideway 45 and the shanks orstems riding in the guideways 4'4. Thereafter the nail feeding mechanismis inserted by pushing the same into place from the rear of the machine.As the nail feeding mechanism is being inserted, the channels 5l5lstraddle the stick of nails, as may be seen from Figure 11, and the lastnail engages the surface 69 of the plate 62 and pushes the plate 62rearwardly against the action of the springs 6ll6[l. The tube 50 ispushed into the machine until the end 15 thereof is flush with the endof the machine.

At that time a hole 76 which is formed in the webs of the channels 5I5land through the block 53 is in alignment with corresponding holes il inthe castings 2 and 3. A short pin 18 is then slipped through the holes Hin the castings 2 and 3 and through the hole 76 in the block 53. Theholes l'6'|l are of the same diameter to permit the pin to bepositioned. The pin fits snugly in the holes H but has a reduced shankportion l9 which is of appreciably less diameter than the diameter ofthe hole 16. After the pin has been positioned the operator releases thefinger pressur which the operator had maintained on the right hand endof the feeder mechanism 50. The springs 60, acting on the plate 62 whichpresses against the last nail of the stick of nails 68, now forces thefeeder mechanism 50 to move to the right until the edge of the hole 16of the feeder mechanism comes into engagement with the shank 79 of thepin 18. The pin now prevents further rearward movement of the tube 50.At the same time the tube 50 prevents retraction of the pin 18. When thelast nail of the stick has been used the feeder mechanism may be removedby merely exerting a pressure against the slightly outwardly projectingend of the tube 50, thus forcing the tube inwardly in the machine tobring the hole f6 back into alignment with the hole 11. This thenpermits withdrawal of the pin 18, after which the tube '50 may beretracted to refill the machine.

Reference may now be had to Figure 14 which shows another and differentform of nail feeding mechanism. The nail driving arrangement of Figure14 is the same as that of Figure 2, so a further description thereof isunnecessary. In this construction the stick of nails rides in a T-shapedslot or guideway formed in the two castings 2 and 3, corresponding tothe guideways i l-45 of Figure 11. In this construction the tubereceiving grooves 68 of Figure 11 are omitted. Above the T-shaped grooveM-45 in the two castings 2 and it there is formed a longitudinallyextending circular groove 85, the bottom of which is a continuation ofthe top of the groove 55. A nail pusher plate 38, which corresponds tothe nail pusher plate 62 of Figure 13, rides in the nail guideway. Theplate 88 is of a generally T-shaped cross section, the same as the crosssection of the nail, and has a sleeve 89 at the top thereof and formingan integral part therewith. The sleeve 89 rides in the circular groove85. A guide rod 99 extends through the sleeve 89 and has a flat buttonill at the forward end thereof, which button bears against the rear faceof the anti-buckling plate 30 thereby limiting the extent of insertionof the guide rod 98 into the machine, A coiled spring 94 surrounds theguide rod and at its forward end bears against the rear of the nailpusher plate 88. At its opposite end the guide rod 90 threads into aknurled nut 95 which in turn threads into tapped threads formed at therear of the bore 85, thus positioning the guide rod 90 in the machine.As each nail is progressively used the nail pusher plate 88 pushes thestick of nails in the machine forward until, when the last nail of thestick is in the channel 4|, the edge 91 of the nail pusher plate 88 isflush With the front surface of the plate 38. The forward surface 98 ofthe sleeve G9 terminates short of the surface 97 by an amount exactlyequal to the combined thickness of the button Eli and the plate 30 sothat when the surface 91 of the nail pusher is flush with the frontsurface of the plate 30 the surface 98 of the sleeve abuts against theback of the button! and limits further movement of the nail pusher. Itis thus apparent that when the last nail is driven home the nail pusherdoes not advance beyond the position occupied "by it when the last nailhad been positioned in the channel 4! for subsequent use. Here, as inthe constructicnpreviously described, the nail pusher plate 38 there--fore never reaches a position in the path of movement of the naildriving stem 28.

When it is necessary to reload the machine the knurled nut 95 is merelythreaded out of the machine, thereby allowing withdrawal of the guiderod 90 and the nail pusher plate 88. A stick of nails may then beinserted in the machine from the rear thereof, after which the guide rod98 with the plate 88 thereon may be reinserted into the machine. Whenthe surface 91 of the plate 88 engages the last nail of the stick theplate 88 can then move forward no further and upon continued insertionof the guide rod 9% into the machine the guide rod slides through thesleeve 89 until threads on the knurled nut 95 are threaded into themachine and the button hi comes into engagement with the back surface ofthe plate 36.

In compliance with the requirements of the patent statutes I have hereshown and described a few preferred embodiments of my invention. It is,however, to be understood that the invention is not limited to theprecise constructions here shown, the same being merely illustrative ofthe principles of the invention.

What is considered new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A nailing machine including two similar face to face castings securedtogether, the contacting faces having cooperating lengthwise extendingstraight grooves each of the shape of an inverted L and together forminga T-shaped guideway for receiving a stack of nails, cooperatinglengthwise extending grooves in the two castings each a continuation ofthe associated L-groove and together forming a space for a springmechanism, and a spring mechanism in said space, said spring mechanismextending across the nail space and having a central longitudinal slottherein for the movement of nails therethrough.

2. A nailing machine including two similar face to face castings securedtogether, the con tacting faces having cooperating lengthwise extendingstraight grooves each of the shape of an inverted L and together forminga T-shaped guideway for receiving a stack of'nails, cooperatinglengthwise extending grooves in the two castings each extending alongthe side of the associated L-groove and together forming a space for aspring mechanism, a longiudinally slotted spring mechanism in saidspace, and a nail pusher in the nail guideway and, extending in saidslot, said spring. mechanism exerting a force against the pusher forcontinuously urging the pusher into pressure engagement with a stack ofnails and advancing the pusher as the number of nails in the stack isdiminished.

3. A nailing machine including two similar face to face castings securedtogether, the contacting faces having cooperating lengthwise extendingstraight grooves to ether forming a guideway for receiving a stack ofnails, a nail pusher, cooperating lengthwise extending grooves in thetwo castings on opposite sides of the first mentioned grooves andtogether forming a space for a spring mechanism, and a spring mechanismin said space and continuously urging the pusher into 10 pressureengagement with a stack of nails and advancing the pusher as the numberof nails in the stack is diminished, said sprin mechanism having alongitudinally extending slot therein through which the nails and thepusher extend.

4. A nailing machine including two similar face to face castings securedtogether, the contacting faces having cooperating lengthwise extendingstraight grooves together forming a, guideway for receiving a stack ofnails, a spring operated nail feeding mechanism, said feeding mechanismbeing retractible from the machine, and a, releasable pin for holdingthe mechanism against retraction, said pinhaving a notch therein, andsaid mechanism engaging the notch and maintained in engagement with thenotch by the spring'of the mechanism for releasably holding the pinagainst retraction,

5; A nailing machine including two similar face to face castings securedtogether, the contacting faces having cooperating lengthwise extendingstraight grooves together forming a guideway for receivin a stack ofnails, cooperating lengthwise extending grooves in the two castingstogether forming a space for a spring mechanism, a spring operated nailfeeding mechanism in the space provided by said grooves, said feedingmechanism being retractible from the machine, and a releasable pin forholding the mechanism against retraction, said pin having a notchtherein, and said mechanism engaging the notch and maintained inengagement with the notch by the spring of the mechanism for releasablyholding the pin against retraction.

6. A nailing machine including two similar face to face castings securedtogether, the contacting faces having cooperating lengthwise extendingstraight grooves together forming a guideway for receiving a stack ofnails, cooperating lengthwise extending grooves in the two castingstogether forming a space for a spring mechanism, the grooves beinglocated in the respective guideways between the upper and lower edgesthereof, and a spring operated nail feeding mechanism, said feedingmechanism being retractible from the machine, and a releasable pin forholding the mechanism against retraction, said pin having a notchtherein, and said mechanism engaging the notch and maintained inengagement with the notch by the spring for releasably holding the pinagainst retraction.

7. A nailing machine including two similar face to face castings securedtogether, the contacting faces having cooperating lengthwis extendingstraight grooves together forming a guideway for receiving a stack ofnails, a spring operated nail feeding mechanism said feeding mechanismbeing retractible from the machine, and a releasable pin for holding themechanism against retraction, said pin having a notch therein, and saidmechanism engaging th notch and maintained in engagement with the notchby the spring for releasably holding the pin against retraction.

8. A nailing machine including two similar face to face castings securedtogether, the contacting faces having cooperating lengthwise extendingstraight grooves together forming a guideway for receiving a stack ofnails, cooperating lengthwise extending grooves in the two castingstogether forming-a space for a spring mechanism, the grooves beinglocated in the respective guideways between the upper and lower edgesthereof, and a spring operated nail feeding mechanism comprising a tubein the space provided by said grooves, said tube having a longitudinallyextending slot from one end thereof to permit the tube to straddle nailsin said guideway, a nail pusher member in said tube, spring means in thetube on opposite sides of the slot for advancing the pusher member, saidfeeding mechanism being retractible from the machine, and a releasablepin for holding the mechanism against retraction, said pin having anotch therein, and said mechanism engaging the notch and maintained inengagement with the notch by the spring for releasably holding the pinagainst retraction.

9. A nailing machine including two similar face to face castings securedtogether and having a space therein for receiving a stack of nails, anda spring operated nail feeding mechanism comprising a tube having alongitudinally extending slot from one end thereof to permit the tube tostraddle nails in the machine, a nail pusher member in said tube, andspring means in the tube on O posite sides of the slot for advancing thepusher member.

10. A nailing machine including two similar face to face castingssecured together and having a space therein for receiving a stack ofnails, cooperating lengthwise extending grooves in the two castingstogether forming a space for a spring mechanism, and a spring operatednail feeding mechanism comprising a tube in the space provided by saidgrooves, said tube having a longitudinally extending slot from one endthereof to permit the tube to straddle nails in the machine, a nailpusher member in said tube, and spring means in the tube on oppositesides of the slot fo advancing the pusher member.

11. In a nailing machine having means for receiving a stack of nails, asplit spring guide tube adapted to straddle the stack of nails, a pushermember in the tube for advancing the nails, and spring means in the tubeon opposite sides of the nails straddled thereby and exerting a force onthe pusher to advance the nails.

12. In a nailing machine, a nail feeder comprising a slotted tube, apusher member carried by the tube and riding in the slot, and springmeans in the tube on opposite sides of the slot for advancing the pushermember.

13. In a nailing machine, a nail feeder comprising a slotted tube, apusher member carried by the tube and riding in the slot, spring meansin the tube on opposite sides of the slot for advancing the pushemember, said nailing machine having a guideway in which the feeder isslidable, a pin extending into the machine and through the feeder forholding the feeder against retraction from the machine, said pin havinga notch therein, and spring means carried by the feeder for urging thefeeder into engagement with the notch in the pin for holding the pinagainst retraction.

EDGAR. P. ANSTETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 163,456 Carver May 18, 1875333,812 Beal Jan. 5, 1886 1,146,105 Sabelman July 13, 1915 2,268,102Attula Dec. 30, 1941 59,984 Dutcher Nov. 27, 1866 337,061 Higgins et a1Mar. 2, 1886 147,027 Smith Feb. 3, 1874 2,160,514 Polzer May 30, 1939FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 11,944 Great Britain May 26, 1898641,073 Germany Jan. 19, 1937 7,097 Austria Mar. 26, 1902

